One of the most common adjectives for gadgets and gear- now and likely in the near future- will be ‘connected’. Every item and product and appliance, from lightbulbs to speakers and even furniture is hopping on the Internet of Things bandwagon. The IoT and home automation technologies are maturing rapidly, as the infrastructure and core components become more affordable and commonplace.
But it’s fair to be skeptical of such advances, and to keep a wary eye on your kitchen counters. While grabbing the latest gizmos can be tempting, reliability is critical- especially for morning coffee, as we all know how you can get if you haven’t had your morning java. The Behmor Brazen Connected aims to be a bridge to the future, and it’s a solid step in the right direction as it builds on it’s well-regarded SCAA-certified predecessor. The company knows coffee from bean to cup, as it also makes roasting machines.
The twin basic ideas behind the brewer: advanced control over aspects of the process, as well as a move from physical buttons to reliance on an app with wi-fi connectivity. Most coffee machines on the market are limited to their hardware, and the fairly limited improvements that have been made over the years. The system, though, gets the hardware just about perfect- but without much in the way of controls, it can only as strong as the software, and we’ll discuss that in a moment. The most important thing to note is that it delivers on the promises to offer a good degree of precision control over water temperature and presoak/infusion time. The thermal carafe is nice, and the unit looks great and doesn’t take up too much space. It’s easy to fill up, though a bit slower than some brewers to finish brewing your pot. And it lacks single-cup options, like most drip brewers.
The free iPhone and Android apps still need some work, but the seeds are well-planted and we’re excited to see what happens. It’s simple to use, with lots of power at your fingertips, including suggestions for different roasting styles. At the moment, though, some things that you probably expect from a coffee maker in this price range are absent or annoying- setting alarms to automatically brew tomorrow morning, for instance. In the future, we hope to see nifty features like downloadable brewing profiles to match, say, the Kopi Luwak you’re tasting. Control is tough, and automating those controls is even harder- and we’re happy to see Behmor’s Brazen Connected fulfill the promise where many ‘smart’ appliances have fallen short. It’s available now, in stores and online for around $269, and is the perfect addition to any coffee geek’s kitchen.
